Have Christ’s Attitude in Yourselves
If we are to have Christ’s attitude of humility in ourselves, we must continually practice three actions in our daily lives...
Speaker: Terry Thomas
Philippians 2:5-11
5) Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6) who, although He existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7) but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant (slave), being made in the likeness of men. 8) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9) Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11) and that everyone should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
As Christians, we have been made alive together with Christ. Christ lives in us and we are to live as Christ would live. Our attitude and actions should reflect our union with Him. If we are to have Christ’s attitude of humility in ourselves, we must continually practice three actions in our daily lives:
- We should position ourselves as slaves of God.
- We should practice obedience to the point of death.
- We should place ourselves in God’s care to bring about our exaltation at the proper time.
- We should position ourselves as slaves of God.
If we are to have Christ’s attitude, we should follow the example of His actions. His first action in this passage was to take the position of a slave. Before His incarnation, He existed in the form of God. He was fully God, having the essence and attributes of Deity. He was King of kings, Lord of lords. Prior to taking on the form of humanity He did not exist as a slave before the Father or in creation.
When Christ took on the human nature in His incarnation, He did not cling to His Divine position of being in the form of God and being equal with God. He emptied Himself of manifesting His position as Sovereign of the universe and the glory that was His as God, and He took the form of a slave. In His appearance, He looked like a normal human being. One could not tell by observing Him that He was God and that He did not possess a sin nature.
As Christians, we must not consider that we are the lords of our life. We must recognize that we are slaves of God and it is no longer our will that we fulfill but His will. We obey His commandments and fulfill the works He has prepared for us to complete to His honor and glory. He redeemed us from the slave market of sin and rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the Kingdom of His Son. We should position ourselves as slaves of God and our practice should demonstrate our position. Obeying His commands and completing the works He has prepared for us will fulfill His purpose for us.
2. We should practice obedience to the point of death.
Christ’s second action in this passage that demonstrates His attitude of humility is His willingness to be obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. He lived a righteous life obeying the Mosaic Law completely. He obeyed His Father’s will to offer Himself as the Passover Lamb for the payment of the sins of God’s people. Though He committed no sin or any crime worthy of death by execution, He was crucified on a cross, died, and was buried.
Throughout the history of the United States, there has been a very low risk of dying because a person was a Christian. This may change in the near future. We as Christians need to be willing to die for our faith in Christ. We must not fear the one who can kill the body, but we must fear the One who not only can take a physical life but also can cast a soul into hell. We must be willing to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Christ no matter where He leads.
3. We should place ourselves in God’s care to bring about our exaltation at the proper time.
The third action Christ fulfilled in order to demonstrate His humility was to entrust Himself unto the Father to bring about His exaltation. After Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, the Father exalted Him to sit at His right hand, a position of authority and power. The Father bestowed on Him the name that is above every name. At His name, all human and all angelic creatures will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus did not exalt Himself or seek to bring retribution against those at His trials or those who crucified Him. He entrusted Himself unto the Father to bring about His exaltation in the Father’s timing.
In I Peter 5:6, Peter commands His readers to, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty Hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” If believers will humble themselves under God’s authority, God will bring about their exaltation at the proper time. Believers are not to seek to exalt themselves before others in their own timing, but to submit to God’s will and timing concerning their exaltation. Our exaltation is based in our union in Jesus Christ. We need to place ourselves in God’s hands to bring about our exaltation at the proper time.
Conclusion
If we follow Christ’s example in His attitude of humility, we should position ourselves as slaves of God, practice obedience to the point of death, and place ourselves in God’s care to bring about our exaltation at the proper time. We should make the decision to recognize we are slaves of God and follow through to obey His commands demonstrating that we are indeed slaves of God, even if it costs us our physical lives. We should trust God enough to rest in Him that He will keep His promise to exalt us at the proper time—His time. We should appreciate Christ’s example for us and follow it as we live out our Christian lives.
